


my home for all seasons

by salvatorestjohn



Series: Six Days of Ficmas [2]
Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Family Feels, Fluff, Hot Chocolate, Light Angst, Love Confessions, Minor Landon Kirby/Milton "MG" Greasley, Multi, Teen Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:08:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21863497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/salvatorestjohn/pseuds/salvatorestjohn
Summary: "Of course you can't take a break from your brooding and self-isolation even for the holidays," Lizzie says, sarcasm dripping purposefully from her voice as she stops in front of the bench.Hope lifts her head, looking up at her in surprise, as if she genuinely thought she had made herself invisible by shrinking into her scarf. It wouldn't shock Lizzie in the slightest if she had actually attempted to cast a cloaking spell on herself.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Mikaelson Family, Hope Mikaelson/Lizzie Saltzman, Josie Saltzman/Kaleb Hawkins, Landon Kirby & Lizzie Saltzman, Milton "MG" Greasley & Kaleb Hawkins
Series: Six Days of Ficmas [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1575109
Comments: 6
Kudos: 125





	my home for all seasons

Snowflake after snowflake falls down from the sky, joining the thick layer of it that's already blanketing the school grounds, and shows no sign of stopping. Lizzie watches it with a scowl from the window in the entrance common room. It's been going for weeks, and as much as she loves having a white Christmas and being able to watch it while she's curled up in blankets in front of the fire, it might be the one thing that stops her mom from making it back in time. 

She's been checking the flights every few minutes and keeping an eye on any warnings other than the very obvious storm outside. So far, there's been at least three accidents within the last hour and two flight cancellations as well as one delay. Her mom can't even reply to a single message she sends because the signal keeps getting blown out. For once in her life, she couldn't hate snow more. 

"Watching it isn't going to make a difference," she hears Josie sigh and looks over at her. She's curled up on the couch next to the window that Lizzie is currently sitting on, her head resting on her arms as she stares out the same window. "The snow isn't going away anytime soon. Mom will get here as soon as she can."

"Which could be February at this rate," Lizzie replies.

Josie doesn't disagree. They've both been worrying for months that their mom would cancel on them because of some new lead. She's been assuring them since the summer break that she'll be home for the holidays. Lizzie didn't take into account that the weather might be against that happening. 

"You both gotta chill out," Kaleb says, making Lizzie tear her gaze away from the window once more. It's not as if she can actually see anything aside from the field that they would normally be out playing Wickery on if the temperature hadn't dropped so low. "Pun intended."

She scowls at him. Josie merely rolls her eyes as he sighs, clearly sensing the lack of humour in the air. The only good thing that Lizzie has been able to find today is that the school itself is as warm as autumn, a result of the fireplaces burning safely throughout every room and a couple of spells. 

"Your mom will be here," Kaleb says, switching tactic. "I heard your dad talking to her when I walked past the office, and he's already told you that she's coming. Just give it a couple more hours, it's barely past twelve. There's no use in stressing about it."

"Easy for you to say," Lizzie says, trying to sound snarky, but it falls flat as she glances away from him, crossing her arms over her knees. "You're going home to your family tomorrow. We might not even see our mom before New Year."

"He's right, Lizzie," Josie says. "Mom will be here soon. We just have to keep our minds off it before we drive ourselves crazy."

Lizzie rolls her eyes, not bothering to even try and be discreet. Of course Josie would agree with Kaleb. The two of them have always found some way to be infuriatingly right, it comes as no surprise to her that they're almost always on the same page as well. 

"I'm already crazy, remember?" she replies, though it's less bitter-sounding than it might have been a few weeks ago now that she knows she wasn't, in fact, hallucinating an entire boyfriend. Although finding out that he was using her certainly put a bit of damper on things. 

She sees Josie winces out of the corner of her eyes at the use of the word.

"You're not crazy," she mutters, knowing her protest is pointless when Lizzie doesn't really mean it anyway.

Neither of them has been feeling that great mentally lately though, so she certainly can't blame her for her reaction. She doesn't comment on it, letting the subject drop as she sees Kaleb reach out to rub Josie's shoulder. She turns back to the window, staring out at the snow for a moment.

"I'm going for a walk," she decides.

Kaleb practically scoffs as if she really has gone insane, Josie's puzzled expression saying the same.

"Out there?" he asks in disbelief, nodding his head at the window. "You'll freeze in minutes. Or catch pneumonia."

"Or hypothermia," Josie chimes in, now lifting her head to stare at her, completely serious. 

Lizzie rolls her eyes as she hops off of the windowsill. "I'm taking a coat, jeez. And besides, if I get cold, I'll just use a heating spell."

Josie still looks doubtful, but Lizzie isn't being talked out of it. 

"You said I need a distraction," she points out, already walking away from them. "You two have fun!"

Kaleb just shakes his head as Josie makes a noise of protest but she doesn't try and stop her. She's sure she hears her muttered admittance of defeat in the form of something about a coat. True to her word, she grabs the one she left on the arm of the couch before she leaves the room, having left it there in case she was to go and meet her mom at the airport. That doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. 

Taking a scarf from the rack hanging up along the wall, she wraps it around her neck then opens the front door and steps outside. She closes it behind her then stuffs her hands into her pockets and starts walking. The snow would crunch beneath her feet, but they sink too far in, nearly coming up to her mid-calf. 

She folds her arms around herself and walks down the stairs and out onto what should be the driveway before turning off to her left, in the direction of the garden. She doesn't really have a set path, she just needs to be outside, to think of anything other than her mom. 

As she glances up, squinting slightly as the snow falls down onto her face, her eyes are drawn back down. They lock onto a certain Mikaelson, huddled on one of the benches far away from everyone and everything. She rolls her eyes but starts walking towards her. 

* * *

Even after Lizzie leaves, taking her advice even if not quite in the way she was expecting, Josie can't help but glance back over at the window. A quiet sigh passes her lips as she watches the snow seem to get heavier, and she feels Kaleb squeeze her shoulder gently.

"It's gonna be alright, Jo," he says softly, clearly trying to sound far more convincing now.

She turns her head to look at him and he offers her a small smile. Her stomach is still twisting and turning with anxiety though, and every part of her feels restless, and she barely manages to return it.

"Your mom's gonna be here," Kaleb goes on, his head tilting to hold her gaze as he chuckles. "Nothing's gonna stop her from getting back here, alright? Trust me, I have met your mother, and she won't let a bit of snow or anything get in the way of her being back here with you."

Josie laughs along with him, nodding as he raises his eyebrows at her.

"Alright?" he asks with a grin.

"Yeah," she agrees, still nodding, turning into a shake of her head at herself. "Yeah, you're right."

"'Course I am."

She rolls her eyes and nudges him jokingly as he gives another chuckle. He shifts his hand from her shoulder, wrapping his arm around her instead, and she leans into the touch. A slight weight starts to ease from her chest almost immediately. Maybe it's a vampire thing.

His other hand moves under her chin, getting her to lift her head to look back up at him. Her smile is far brighter this time. She leans in, taking his hand as she kisses him. He easily kisses back, his mouth curving for just a second. It has a little spark of happiness spreading through her, warming her skin where the cold has somehow managed to seep in. 

Despite that, she hears Kaleb quietly say, "you are absolutely freezing."

"I'm a cold person," she defends, raising a shoulder, her smile growing. She lets go of his hand to pull at the sleeve of her jumper, bringing it down past her hand as she rolls her eyes. "And I'm not allowed to use any heating or fire-related spells anymore since they keep going wrong, so."

"That's adorable," he says with complete seriousness, not even bothering to hide his grin.

She huffs, pouting slightly, but he rubs her arm through the fabric of her sweater. 

A sly smile quickly spreads across his face. "Well, I know a way we could heat you up."

"Don't say it," she groans, closing her eyes.

"Hot chocolate and chill." 

"If you say that one more time, I will make hot chocolate just so I can pour it over you," she tells him, opening her eyes to find him grinning from ear-to-ear. She considers for a moment, her head tilting. "Although that's not a bad idea. To drink, I mean, not to pour it over you."

Kaleb laughs, nodding along. "Alright, just hot chocolate it is. I think there are still a couple marshmallows in the kitchen. If MG and Landon haven't eaten the entire bag already."

As he stands, dropping his arm from around her, she follows, keeping a hold on his hand. He pauses as she leans in a little closer, her mouth curving slowly.

"The chill part can come later," she says softly, her meaning clear.

His eyebrows raise, and she has the look on his face captured in her mind. His surprise, as always, is fleeting. Quickly replaced with a particular glint in his eyes that makes her heartbeat jumps, and he knows it, making him grin again.

She just starts walking, biting her lip as his eyes follow her until she has to drop his hand. His expression falters for a second, uncertainty clouding his features.

"You mean chill as in _chill_ , right?" he asks after her. "We're talking watching Harry Potter in your room kind of chill?"

She turns to look back at him over her shoulder, walking backwards. She raises her shoulders with feigned innocence.

"Wait and see," she simply says. 

His eyes widen. That answer seems to be good enough for now. She's already turning away from him again, admittedly a little smug, and he quickly moves to catch back up with her. He reaches her just as they walk into the kitchen.

It doesn't surprise her in the slightest to find MG and Landon already there. 

"Come on, you're a vampire!" Landon says, waving his hands from where he's perched on the edge of the island. "You can do way better than that!"

"If you'd stop moving I could!" Landon scoffs and MG narrows his eyes at him. "Shut up, you're ruining my concentration."

Landon sighs as Josie and Kaleb both stop, going unnoticed by them. MG takes an oversized marshmallow from the nearly empty bag of them in his hand and pauses for a second, clearly taking aim. Then he tosses it towards Landon, who opens his mouth and moves his head forward and catches it between his teeth. 

They both cheer, though Landon's somewhat muffled, throwing their arms up in triumph. Josie raises an eyebrow and shares an amused look with Kaleb, who seems to be in disbelief as he turns back to them.

"What the hell are you two doing?" he asks, shaking his head.

Finally noticing them standing there, they both stop, looking over at them. They closely resemble a pair of deers who wandered out into the middle of the street for a nice little stroll and only realized there was a car coming towards them when it was about a second away from hitting them.

Landon makes a noise as if trying to speak, pointing to himself and MG, but it's impossible to hear through the marshmallow that he appears to have already forgotten about. MG jumps in for him as Kaleb shoots him an exasperated look.

"Marshmallow contest," he says with a grin that borders on sheepish. "We were tryna see who could catch the most, and we — well, you know..." He falters as Kaleb and Josie just stare at him, Josie's smile growing. He quickly changes track. "What are you guys up to?"

"Hot chocolate," Josie explains. 

MG makes a face as he looks over at Kaleb with an incredulous expression. "Did you seriously use that line? Did you not hear me the three times that I told you to do absolutely anything but that? What part of 'not unless you want hot chocolate dumped on you' did you not hear?"

Josie raises her eyebrows, biting back a grin as she turns to Kaleb. He's got a mildly unamused look on his face, but he rolls his eyes, the corners of his mouth twitching.

"You should know by now that I'm never taking your advice about relationships," he says, and gives a pointed look towards Landon, still chewing the oversized marshmallow.

He pauses, his cheeks puffed out like a hamster as his eyes widen slightly. Josie ducks her head, smiling. 

"And you were wrong, so," Kaleb adds.

"Well, I did threaten to pour hot chocolate on you," Josie points out.

MG snickers and Landon makes a noise as if doing the same. 

"And then you agreed," Kaleb reminds, turning to her with a grin. "You can't say no to Harry Potter and hot chocolate and we both know it."

"Wait, hold up," MG stares at him in disbelief, "by _chill_ you meant watch Harry Potter?"

Kaleb nods, his amusement clear across his face and making Josie laugh softly. Suddenly his reaction makes a lot more sense. In his defence, Josie had more or less the same thought process as him the first two times Kaleb said it until she caught on. 

"Obviously," Kaleb says, shaking his head. "You do remember that I'm ace, right? If I'm chilling it's with Netflix and Jo, and nothing else. Except hot chocolate. Which reminds me—" he motions to the bag in MG's hand, "—have you two used up all the marshmallows?"

"There's more in the cupboard," Landon answers, finally able to swallow. He points a thumb behind him. "Top right, middle shelf."

"Should be a full bag," MG adds as Josie moves to get them. "We only used the oversized ones. Seemed better for the competition."

Josie stretches up to open the cupboard as Kaleb snorts and goes to make a start on the hot chocolate. 

"You're dorks," she says with a smile, throwing a glance back at them, earning herself a fond eyeroll from MG and an almost pleased look from Landon. 

"Alright, come on," he says, turning back to MG and gesturing to himself. "I've only caught three so far. I need at least five or else Lizzie will never let me live it down."

Josie shares a look with Kaleb, their amusement passing between them. Neither of them comments on it, going back to their respective tasks, as MG takes another marshmallow out of the bag and takes a moment to aim it. There's a cheer from behind her as she locates the other bag of marshmallows. 

* * *

"Of course you can't take a break from your brooding and self-isolation even for the holidays," Lizzie says, sarcasm dripping purposefully from her voice as she stops in front of the bench.

Hope lifts her head, looking up at her in surprise, as if she genuinely thought she had made herself invisible by shrinking into her scarf. It wouldn't shock Lizzie in the slightest if she had actually attempted to cast a cloaking spell on herself. 

"What are you doing out here?" Hope asks, her eyebrows knitting together. 

"Taking a walk," she says, shrugging.

Hope just continues to stare at her, now arching an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. Lizzie sighs and drops down next to her on the bench, ignoring her confusion. 

"I am trying not to think about the fact that my mom hasn't replied to a single message I've sent her since I woke up this morning, or that there's so much snow that it'll be a surprise if any of the planes are actually allowed to leave the airports at all before New Year. Or that my dad couldn't seem to care less."

The last part is said with much quieter, and with a sigh. It's been playing on her mind for the last few days. He keeps assuring her that she'll be home every time she brings it up with him, but he doesn't seem all that bothered about whether he's right or not. 

The realization that she's just defeated the purpose of coming outside hits her and she groans in her head. 

"Maybe he just doesn't want you to worry," Hope points out after a beat passes, shaking her head. 

"Yeah, well, it's having the opposite effect," Lizzie says bitterly. "And it wouldn't exactly kill him to at least seem even a tiny bit happy about it. I mean, it's the holidays, isn't this a time of joy and family or whatever crap those cards spout."

Hope chuckles softly at that, and there's a warm flutter in her stomach. The corners of Lizzie's mouth twitch as she glances at her, watching her duck her head as her eyebrow quirks for a brief moment. It's a welcome sight, at least. Everything about Hope is a welcome sight to her. 

The expression on Hope's face shifts as she turns her head to look back up at her. An uncomfortable feeling replaces the pleasant one in the pit of her stomach just at the sympathy written all over her face but clear as day in her eyes.

"Not every family is a happy one," she says, a strange, sad understanding to the way she says it. "Parents are...complicated. You can't expect them to love each other just because it would make things easier or you wish that's how it was. Even at the holidays when people try to pretend that they do. It wouldn't be fair on them or you and Josie."

Lizzie's smile fades as her words sink in. She's right, obviously, and she's known all of that since she was six years old and was able to tell that her parents could barely figure out how to be in the same room with each other. It doesn't make it any easier to have to deal with on a daily basis. 

"Easy for you to say, and I mean that in the least insensitive way possible," she says, glancing at her as Hope looks taken-aback. "At least your parents actually loved each other. And your aunt Freya is happily married. As is your other aunt, and your uncle. You don't have to spend the holidays watching them practically pretend the other doesn't exist."

"They're not...that bad," Hope tries, but when Lizzie scoffs, she lets it drop, knowing that she's right. She shakes her head again, her gaze dropping down to her lap. "I wish you were right, though."

Lizzie's brow furrows and she looks at her properly now. 

"About my parents," Hope goes on, explaining. "I never saw them spend a single holiday together. I know that they cared enough to want to try and protect each other, but...they didn't love each other. They were nearly as bad as your parents, to be honest."

Lizzie can't help but scoff this time. Hope looks up at her in confusion and her expression borders on offended. 

"Seriously?" Lizzie asks, raising her eyebrows, but Hope shows no sign of trying to make her feel better. "Your parents were the complete opposite of mine. They _did_ love each other. In fact, they were in love with each other according to everything my mom told me about them." 

"No," Hope says without missing a beat, only to falter, her eyebrows furrowing further. "No, she must have got it wrong. They cared about each other as family because of me, but that...that was it. I mean...there was a few letters that my aunt Freya gave me that my mom sent to my dad, but..."

Lizzie raises her eyebrows, watching her try and find some way to argue, something that will prove she's right. She doesn't seem to be able to find much, as Lizzie was expecting. Her mom didn't really tell her all that much either, but she definitely recalls parts of the conversation she overheard between her and her dad after her mom came back from trying to help Klaus.

It was just before they died. She heard something about how much Hayley being missing was clearly hurting Klaus. How broken he seemed because of it. How fondly he talked about her, with an amount of love that's so rare to find. 

The realization crosses Hope's face, subtle and confused and Lizzie almost regrets saying anything. Something about thinking about it seems to hurt her, and Lizzie can take a good guess at the reason. Finding out your parents were in love with each other after they're dead and might never have told each other can't be that great.

"I guess you have a point," Hope says after a moment, her voice strangely quiet. 

"Don't I always?" Lizzie jokes in an attempt to switch the mood back.

Hope gives a small smile in response, glancing back up at her. "Let's not get cocky."

"It's just called being right."

Hope rolls her eyes, but her smile is widening as she shakes her head at her, and Lizzie wonders if there's something else she can say that will make it last that little bit longer. Even now it feels so strange and unfamiliar to see Hope Mikaelson smiling and laughing this softly, finding herself completely at ease with her. A few months ago, she would have been cursing her under her breath for stealing up all of her dad's attention without even needing to try, for being Little Miss Perfect all while whining about how much she's lost when, in Lizzie's eyes, she has everything. 

Now, she just wants to make her eyes light up the way that they're doing now. She wants to roll her eyes at herself. Could she sound any more like a lovesick idiot? She'd rather not find out as the little voice in the back of her head forces her to notice how cute Hope looks as she moves her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her hair.

It's speckled with snow, she realizes, barely a single auburn strand left untouched. She must have been out here for a while before Lizzie came out. Are tribrids immune to the cold? Her eyes shift to Hope's eyelashes to find little dots of white clinging to them as well, surrounding the unusual shade of blue that she's realizing actually looks brighter out here. 

"What's your reason then?" she blurts out without thinking, scrambling for something to distract her from how much she desperately wants to reenact one of those dumb romance movie scenes. 

Hope turns her head without really lifting it, peering up at her curiously through those snow-laden lashes, and Lizzie thinks that only made it worse. At least when she wasn't looking at her she didn't have to worry about what her own face was doing, but not she's aware that her face feels like it's on fire despite the cold biting harshly at her skin through her coat. 

"I told you my reason for willingly catching hypothermia, " she says, making Hope chuckle, her eyes crinkling at the corners, and damn, that's really not helping. "So, what's yours? Or are you really reverting back to Pre-Malivore Hope Mikaelson who sits alone and would rather freeze than risk having to socialize with the ten people still in the school."

"Hey, I always left my room during the holidays," Hope points out, poking a finger into her shoulder. "I would sit in that chair in the corner of the common room, remember?"

Memories that she only regained a couple of months ago click into place, and she does remember.

"You would read a book while you waited for your mom or dad to pick you up," she says, nodding. She feels a stab of sympathy and glances at her, but Hope doesn't look _sad,_ aside from the edge of it around her eyes _._

Hope nods along with her. "Yeah. Although, I could barely pay attention to it. I mostly just watched everyone else."

"Creep," Lizzie snorts, if only for the way that Hope smiles again, her head tilting. "You always had one of those weird sweaters on as well. The ones that my dad thought would get everyone in the holiday spirit and practically made part of the uniform?"

"Hmm, yep," Hope laughs, nodding again, "those were the ones. I always felt bad if I didn't wear one."

"I suppose not all of them were bad. Though that bright red and green one was a huge mistake and undeniably hideous on anyone."

Lizzie can feel Hope's eyes lingering on her, not quite looking away. Part of wants to turn her head right around and look right back into her eyes, forcing both of them to just acknowledge whatever the hell is going on lately. The other part wins out, making her squirm on the inside, because she hates having something on the tip of her tongue and not saying it. Her brain offers an alternative.

"I always wanted to go over and talk to you," she admits. It feels as if the words get caught up in the icy breeze that sweeps around them for a just a poorly-timed moment, and she thinks she might not have heard her. 

But when she glances to her right, Hope's eyebrows have drawn together to form the adorably puzzled look on her face that makes her look sort of like a puppy. She blames her wolf genes; they clearly just add to the appeal of a typical puppy dog look.

"Before I thought you had told everyone about my episodes, obviously," she says, rolling her eyes, then adds, "well, maybe once after that, but that's only because you were always alone and I almost felt bad for you."

"Why didn't you?" Hope asks, a genuine curiosity and something else to her voice. 

Lizzie makes a disbelieving noise, staring at her. "Why? Maybe because every time I ever tried when we were younger, you practically told me to leave you alone. Which, made no sense to me because I don't remember ever actually doing anything to you." 

She forces herself to stop there at the confused, shocked look on Hope's face, the possibility of spiralling into a tangent on just how much the whole thing hurt her at one point all too likely. Everyone else would ignore Hope Marshall, the quiet, cold girl who supposedly didn't care about anyone else and was likely to hex someone for getting too close. Yet it was all Lizzie wanted to do, because she could feel this connection to her.

People looked at her the exact same way as they used to look at Lizzie. She had thought they had so much in common, that maybe they would get along, because aside from Josie, Lizzie had no one else, but at least then she would have Hope, and Hope would have someone as well. 

"I..." Hope shakes her head, looking her in the eyes. She suddenly leans forward, reaching out a gloved hand to cover one of her own on the edge of the bench, startling her. "I am so sorry, Lizzie. I never even thought... I was so wrapped up in everything going on with my family. And I always thought, if I stopped people from getting close to me, they wouldn't find out who I really was."

"You are aware that I've literally known who you are since you came here, right?" Lizzie tells her, a little bitter. Surely one of the only reasons that it took so long for them to get here wasn't because of some dumb misunderstanding. "My mom didn't even mean for us to hear when she was talking about bringing you into the school, but Jo and I have known you're a Mikaelson since we were five."

Hope blinks, thrown off-guard, but her shock is brief.

"Yeah, I kinda assumed as much." She looks away from her, her eyes moving to their hands instead, Lizzie notices. "Still. It felt like too much of a risk."

"To be my friend?" Lizzie scoffs, incredulous as annoyance flares in her. Pushing people away to protect herself, Lizzie can understand. But the thought that Hope simply didn't want to be her friend because it was risky admittedly hurts even more than she thought it would. 

"Yeah," Hope immediately says, looking back up at her. 

Her eyes are wide, and Lizzie stops at the desperation for her to understand shining in them. She's got the same reluctant expression that she did when they were dealing with the Croatoan. When it was forcing them to spill all of their secrets, the fear and all.

She sighs, and the soft, small smile that curves the corners of her mouth does nothing to clear the situation up any for Lizzie as Hope glances away.

"You know how I said I had a crush on Josie when I was fourteen?" 

Lizzie's stomach twists and ties itself up into the tightest knot possible that almost makes it hard to breathe. Just the mention of it is like a stab to her heart. She nods, though is now wishing she hadn't pushed it at all.

All she had wanted to know was why they both ended up outside on their own, not every detail of what she's guessing is about to be a confession that her crush was longer than just a week, or that it wasn't a crush at all and she actually still has feelings for her.

Knowing her luck, they secretly dated for that week and that's why Hope wanted nothing to do with Lizzie, because they broke up and things were awkward. It doesn't make a single bit of sense, she knows as Hope takes a moment, but her mind is working overtime to make her feel even worse than she already did. 

"I wasn't lying about that, but I...also didn't tell the whole truth," Hope admits. 

Here it comes, Lizzie thinks, bracing herself not to react badly.

"Oh?" she asks, feigning nonchalance. "And what does this have to do with why you thought that being my friend was a risk to you or whatever?"

Obviously nothing would happen between her and Josie now that Josie's with Rafael, but still. Just hearing it, knowing it, will crush that little part of Lizzie that had been clinging on over the yeas despite everything.

"Because I didn't just have a crush on Josie," Hope says, lifting her eyes back to meet hers. She raises a shoulder as if to shrug but seems to forget to drop it back down as the smile that makes Lizzie melt grows, her head tilting. "Lizzie, I had feelings for you." 

Lizzie's stomach lurches. She doesn't blink, barely even breathes for a second as her heartbeat tries to catch back up with her mind which is racing a mile a minute, thought after thought after _what the hell_ bouncing around in her head. 

"I'm sorry, I need you to repeat that, because I think I might actually be losing my mind," she says, her breath stuttering in her throat. 

Hope's mouth curves, almost reaching her eyes, and Lizzie is desperately hoping she's wrong. That she didn't mishear that, because that urge to become a giant cliche is stronger than ever.

"You're not losing your mind," Hope assures her with a slight shake of her head, shrugging again as if this is the most casual conversation they've had when it is far from it. "I started having feelings for you around the same time, when I was fourteen. But I didn't know what to do about it, so..."

Lizzie stares at her in disbelief. "So you constantly rejected every attempt I ever made to talk to or even be friendly toward you? _That_ was your smart plan?"

Hope lifts her head, a crease forming between her eyebrows. "I was fourteen, I never said I was smart," she defends. "And—you were _twelve_. It didn't feel right to say anything."

"Oh, you're playing the age card?" Lizzie says, her eyes narrowing. She pulls her hand away. "Seriously? I'm literally only two years younger than you!"

"It felt like more of a big deal at the time! Besides, why does that even matter? It's not like you were ever interested in me anyway, so this whole conversation is pointless!"

She says it so matter-of-factly that Lizzie actually stops again as Hope looks away from her, her face hidden by those strands of hair that have slipped free again. Was she seriously never that obvious? She barely has a filter now, and it was so much worse when she was younger, especially at twelve. 

She takes a moment, watching Hope sigh, her hands fidgeting in her lap. Her newfound philosophy of going after things she wants and being more positive still technically stands. It hasn't _really_ lead her astray yet. 

Letting her fight-or-flight brain take the wheel, she blurts out, "of course I was interested in you."

The regret that has become instinctual at this point starts to kick in before the words are fully out of her mouth. But it's too late to take them back now. They're out there in the open for the first time.

Hope's head is back around so fast that Lizzie worries about her giving herself whiplash. There's so much confusion, her eyes darting, searching, her eyebrows knitted together as her lips part as if to speak only to come up empty. 

"You and Josie aren't the only ones who get to have secret crushes, you know," Lizzie says with another roll of her eyes, trying to play it cool. It's hard when her heart's threatening to beat its way right out of her chest and onto Hope's lap. 

Hope barely seems to register it. She supposes werewolves don't have the same hearing as vampires. A perk in this situation. And also a really good subject for her to focus on so as to not think about what's going on right now. 

"You had a crush on me?" Hope asks, and Lizzie's mind grabs at the memory that pops up in her head.

Suddenly she's understanding why Josie never wanted to tell her about her feelings for Hope. She tried to be subtle about her own, but Josie knows her almost better than she knows herself. Of course she figured it out on her own. Guilt tugs at her. 

"Briefly," she lies. "Or a while, but who really bothers with the details?" 

"Most people," Hope says, then shakes her head, frowning. "You never said anything. Not even when Josie did. And—how could you have had a crush on me?"

"How could _you_ have had a crush on _me_?" Lizzie counters, if only so that she doesn't have to answer. Hope opens her mouth to respond but Lizzie quickly stops her. "Out of curiosity, when did you get over these feelings for me? Within a week?"

She doesn't know why she asks. It shouldn't be important. It was in the past either way, why torture herself with the knowledge of when exactly her window of opportunity closed?

Hope just gazes at her with this look on her face, her lips slightly parted but making no effort to actually answer her. Lizzie goes to repeat herself, ask what's wrong, but then it clicks. 

"Wait..." she says slowly, her eyes narrowing. "You don't mean...?"

A small smile curves Hope's mouth as she looks away again. Her skin is flushing under the bite of the icy air, or maybe something else. Lizzie just knows that her own is strangely warm; practically burning up, really. 

"No," she says.

Hope peers up at her, arching an eyebrow. "No?"

"No," Lizzie repeats, more firmly this time. "You cannot still have a crush on me. It's not possible."

Hope lifts her head fully to stare at her in disbelief. Lizzie can't bring herself to care, her mind whirring and trying to make sense.

"What does that even mean?" Hope asks, shaking her head. "Why can't I still have feelings for you?"

"For one, I would definitely have known by now," Lizzie says, because she's sure she would have, wouldn't she? She may have difficulty telling when her own feelings aren't returned, but she's never not known when someone has liked her. Except for now and when she was twelve, apparently. 

"Well, you didn't," Hope points out, her voice edging towards defensive again. 

Lizzie scoffs, but chooses to ignore the comment. "And let's not forget how you've been pining after Landon. Which still makes no sense to me, and I don't see why you didn't just go after him again when he and Josie broke up."

"Are you not hearing the part where I have feelings for you?"

"Oh please." Lizzie finally looks at her, meeting her eyes, seeing the confusion all over her face. "If you've really had a crush on me this entire time, then it never stopped you from going after Landon the first time! Or _Roman Sienna_ , who the entire school knew I liked, by the way!"

"He came onto me! I didn't—" Hope cuts herself off. "That isn't even the point! Just because I've had feelings for other people, that doesn't mean I ever stopped liking you. I thought you hated me for no reason, what was I supposed to? Wait around hoping that you might one day stop and suddenly decide you like me?"

Lizzie raises her eyebrows, spreading her arms out to motion around them. Hope rolls her eyes, scoffing. 

"Sorry, but you can see why this is all so hard for me to believe," Lizzie says with a huff, looking away as Hope frowns. "I mean, first you say you didn't want to be my friend when we were younger because you had a crush on me, and now I'm supposed to buy that those feelings never went away? You were moping about Landon for _weeks_ when you came back." 

"And you thought you hallucinated a boyfriend!" Hope shoots back. "Are you telling me you never had feelings for Sebastian?"

"Of course I did, but that is completely different!" Lizzie quickly says, head whipping around. "I didn't even remember who the hell you were! And it's still not even close to being the same anyway, because I am still not buying it. You haven't once acted like you—"

She doesn't have enough time to register Hope surging forward. The rest of her argument lodges in her throat the second Hope's lips are on hers, and it takes a moment for her to realize that she's _kissing her_. Hope Mikaelson is kissing her and— _god_ , her lips are soft, and she's pretty sure she can feel her glove on the side of her neck, and she can't close her eyes even if they're going a little crossed.

Hope slowly pulls back after a moment, her eyes opening to peer up at her. Lizzie faintly notices the worry clouding them, but all her brain seems to want to hone in on is how she was right about the snow on her lashes making the blue of her eyes so much more vibrant. 

A beat passes in relative silence. Neither of them says a word or move at all. 

Lizzie's heart is beating too fast, making her stomach swoop and tie itself in a knot at the same time. This is real, and Hope wasn't lying, and she has never wanted to be a cliche more than she does now.

She hurries to pull her in with a clumsy hand on the back of her neck. The message seems to get across without issue as Hope obliges, meeting her halfway, and Lizzie kisses her.

The knot in her stomach pulls as tight as possible for the first second, then it unfurls completely the next as her eyes close this time, relaxing into it. She's aware of the snow still falling all around them—and on them—tasting it on Hope's lips as it melts between them. There are too many things that she's thinking, unable to latch onto a single one. Except that she definitely never thought her first kiss in the snow, the supposedly most romantic weather to kiss in aside from the rain, would be with Hope Andrea Mikaelson.

It certainly stops her from freezing, though, her skin burning up the longer it takes for either of them to pull away, the longer it has to sink in that this is real. Not some hallucination, not some dream that she may or may not have had once before.

As if sensing her thoughts, Hope inches back, slowly, as if uncertain it's what she wants to do. Lizzie starts to whine, because damn it, they were having a moment, and it was _good_. But then she sees Hope's smile. With the snow covering her and her scarf still wrapped around her, everything about her looks so soft, and Lizzie is more than happy to now be able to confirm that her lips certainly are. 

She can't help but smile back. Her cheeks are burning and flushed, she's sure, made all too obvious by the snow. Hope's are even tinted ever so slightly. It could be the warning signs that they're about to prove Kaleb and Josie right. 

"So," Hope quickly clears her throat as if trying to regain her cool composure only to end up grinning at her instead, "that was, uh...I take it that you...does this mean...?"

"Oh my god, you're turning into Landon," Lizzie says, feigning horror, widening her eyes. "You've caught his dorkiness. I knew there had to be a downside in there somewhere, it was too good to be true."

Hope laughs, shaking her head as she rolls her eyes. Lizzie reaches out, covering the hand Hope has laying idle on the bench, just like she did. Even though they just kissed, twice, it's still enough to make Hope pause, her eyes going to their hands in surprise. She then shifts her hand, turning it over in Lizzie's so that they're actually clasped. Lizzie's heart jumps a beat, and she swallows.

"Okay, I'm going to take it as a bad sign that I can't feel my fingers," she jokes, squeezing Hope's hand the tiniest bit. "Please tell me you can't feel yours either and I'm not catching hypothermia."

"Maybe that's because you're not wearing gloves," Hope points out and only seems to notice it herself now. She motions her head back towards the school with a smile. "Come on. We should go back inside. Before I have to use a heating charm to melt you."

"You don't need a heating charm for that," Lizzie blurts without thinking, her mouth instinctively working without her say so, too relaxed and comfortable in the situation to stop herself. 

Her face immediately burns up, her eyes growing as she registers it. Hope blinks in surprise, but her amusement shines through. At least she wouldn't need that heating charm anymore; her embarrassment has practically set her skin on fire. 

"Oh, no, that was so cheesy," Lizzie says, shaking her head and screwing her face up. "Please pretend I never said that. I can't afford to have messed up whatever the hell is going on between us a minute after it's started. That would be a new and completely humiliating record, and that's saying way too much."

Hope doesn't seem to be judging her in the slightest. She leans over, pressing a soft kiss to her lips, her own still curved up. Lizzie's the one blinking in surprise when she pulls back a second later. That's something she isn't going to get used to if it becomes a habit, she notes. 

"Don't worry, it was cute," Hope says, and Lizzie's eyebrows raise. "But we should seriously head back inside."

Lizzie nods her agreement, but Hope doesn't quite make a move to leave.

"Just so we know where exactly we are...what does this mean? You know, for us?" Hope asks, repeating her earlier question with far more coherency. She raises a shoulder as if totally nonchalant about the whole thing. The nervous flick of her eyes to the ground then back to Lizzie's gives her away.

Lizzie sucks in a breath, her stomach flipping. "Well, not to be presumptuous because I can guarantee that kissing someone is definitely not necessarily a sign that they're into you, but would you feel if I were to...ask you to be my girlfriend?"

"Wait, why do you get to ask? _I_ kissed _you_ ," Hope says.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know this was a competition," Lizzie says pointedly, raising her eyebrows at her as they draw together. "Why asks what it means if you didn't want me to ask you out?"

"Well..." Hope falters, motioning with her hand as if it'll conjure up the rest. "You know, because usually when people ask what it means, the other person asks what they want it to mean, and they..." she shrugs, "...can ask them out?"

One of Lizzie's eyebrows arches further. Hope's shoulders drop back down with a roll of her neck and her eyes. 

"I don't know, okay? I'm just going based on pretty much every movie I've ever watched," Hope admits. 

"Pray tell how you have been in two other relationships before?" Lizzie questions in joking disbelief, narrowing her eyes. There's a twitch at the corner of Hope's lips, and Lizzie sighs, drawing it out theatrically. "Fine. I guess...you can ask me."

Hope stares at her. "You're allowing me to ask you out?"

"Yes, and I would hurry if I were you because I'm only going to pretend I didn't ask you first for so long."

Hope gives another roll of her eyes, but her smile widens. "Alright then."

She turns slightly to face Lizzie a little better. The sight of her clearly working herself up to ask it despite the almost anticlimactic build-up to it, the way she clears her throat, lifts her head, pushes her shoulders back, brings Lizzie right back around to being twelve years old and hopelessly in love with her. 

Looking at her, holding her gaze with those bright eyes through her snow-flecked lashes, Hope takes a moment that feels far too long, then asks, "will you be my girlfriend?"

Something inside of Lizzie jumps, and screams, and cheers despite it all. Kissing her is one thing, an admission of feelings for so long is another, but having her ask that question, to hear that one word, is on a completely different level entirely. One that makes the chilling air catch in her throat, burning it and her lungs like shards of ice. 

Then her face splits into a smile and she nods. "Of course. It would be my pleasure."

Hope makes a face, laughing. "Oh, you have been spending way too much time around Sebastian."

"Well, charm does run in your family, so I may as well get some inside tips from the only other Mikaelson around here besides you, should I not?" Lizzie says, then laughs along with her.

"Guess I shouldn't have expected anything else," Hope says, and Lizzie hums her agreement. "So...we're officially dating, then?"

The words stir up a flurry of swooping in her stomach, equivalent to the feeling of tiny wings brushing against her insides with joy. 

"We are," Lizzie confirms, for Hope and for herself. She takes in a deep breath, quickly pushing it back out, an icy puff forming in the air as if she's a baby dragon still trying to figure out its powers. 

"Okay, I can feel how cold your hands are, and I'm wearing gloves," Hope says. "We should go inside."

She actually moves to stand this time. Lizzie watches her hand move with her for a moment, then feels the slight tug and follows, getting to her feet.

"Maybe you've just lost all feeling in your hand and are now experiencing the first symptoms of frostbite," Lizzie says, pretending to be deadly serious. "There has to be something a tribrid isn't immune to. I'm willing to bet that it's the cold. The harsh winters take the best of us."

"Ah, yes, because my super healing can save me from a stab wound or a bullet, but not from half an hour of snow," Hope plays along, sarcasm dripping from every word as she nods, the two of them starting to walk together. "Adds up." 

"If fire can kill you then so can snow," Lizzie declares.

"Except fire can't kill me." Hope falters as Lizzie looks at her in confusion and watches her brow scrunch. "At least, I don't think it can. Not permanently, anyway. I'd just turn. I think."

"Good to know you're so confident in what can and can't kill you in the midst of a war with a pit that keeps spewing out creatures ten times more powerful than us."

Hope rolls her eyes, her smile widening a little they make their way back towards the school, the snow trying to suck them in with each step. Lizzie can't help but notice her eyes flitting down the driveway, to the iron gate that's been closed up all day. It's going to be a pain to open with the three feet of snow currently laying perfectly untouched around it.

"You know," Lizzie gives Hope's hand a light squeeze, drawing her attention back to her as Lizzie peers at her with curiosity, "you never told me why you happened to be out here? Sitting all alone in the freezing cold...?"

Hope's expression slips a little. Her eyes dart back to the gate. Her hesitation in answering makes Lizzie regret asking, wondering if she should have been able to guess already. There's an idea or two floating about in her head as to why Hope would isolate herself from the rest of them this close to the holidays.

"Same as you, I guess. Trying to distract myself." Hope breathes out a quiet sigh. "I was hoping that I would be able to spend the holidays with my aunts and uncle, but with all the snow, there's been no way in and out, and with all of them in different places, it's just...."

She shakes her head, rolling her eyes.

"It was stupid, but I thought that I could maybe see one of them if I was alone and able to think better. I tried a projection spell for all of them, but I just can't seem to connect to them for some reason. And with the signals all over town blown out, I can't call any of them."

Of course the signal's out. That explains why her mom hasn't even been able to text her back.

"Do you want me to ask my dad if he can try and contact them?" Lizzie asks, stopping a few feet away from the front door. "He got a hold of my mom earlier, so maybe he can do the same with one of your aunts. Preferably your aunt Freya; I'm pretty sure she's the only one he gets along with. No offence."

"Don't worry, my uncle Kol and aunt Rebekah have said worse about him," Hope says, waving it off. She looks hopeful as she considers the offer. "That would actually be really helpful. Just so that I know they're okay."

Lizzie nods, smiling softly at her in understanding. "Of course. Come on. We might have to bring him out of hiding seeing as how being reinstated as temporary headmaster has made him never want to leave his office."

* * *

All of the heating charms placed on the inside of the school hit Hope the second she and Lizzie walk in. It's both a relief and torture to her skin after the biting cold outside. She quickly pulls off her scarf, the gloves following. Lizzie makes for the common room and Hope does the same, both slipping out of their coats on the way. 

Hope glances around, finding a few more people than there had been when she left. They all seem to be enjoying the quiet, their voices low as they speak, some tucked away on a chair or by the window with a book or their laptop. One difference from Harry Potter that she is more than grateful for; magic doesn't actually affect technology. 

She spots Josie and Kaleb at the same time Lizzie does, the two of them on the floor in front of the fireplace with Landon and MG, three out of four of them holding mugs. They approach, and MG's the first to notice, his face lighting up even more than it already had been. 

"Hey! You're just in time!" he says. "We were just talking about what movie we should watch."

"It's not even a discussion!" Landon blurts out before MG's even fully done speaking, throwing a hand up. "Nightmare Before Christmas is reserved for Christmas Eve, and the classics like Philosopher's Stone, The Grinch, Gremlins, etcetera, are all for Christmas day! We should be watching the Netflix classics now, which is why I'm saying we start with The Holiday Calendar, then Let It Snow, and then The Knight Before Christmas."

"Okay, but how is there not room for one Avengers movie in there?" MG counters, and Hope's willing to take a guess and say they've been having this _discussion_ for a while, by the sounds of it.

"Because you never just mean one!" Landon replies. "You always say one, but then after we watch that one, you insist that we have to watch the rest or else it doesn't feel right, and then we spend the entire night watching Captain America instead."

MG makes an almost affronted noise, but his mouth is starting to curve up, and Hope honestly isn't sure what's happening anymore. Lizzie quickly cuts in before he can continue with whatever argument he has. 

"Not that I don't care," Lizzie says, her eyebrows drawing together, "but...what? And, Jo, are you okay?"

"Yeah, you're not looking so good," Hope agrees in concern. 

Josie's curled up with her head in Kaleb's lap, her skin a shade paler and just looking all around not well. Hope notices that her mug of what she's guessing is hot chocolate is pushed far away from her. Still, Josie smiles up at them, giving a slight roll of her head.

"I'm okay," she says. "Just...not feeling great."

Lizzie takes one looks at the mugs and groans. "Let me guess: the cream in your hot chocolate melted too fast so you added more, somehow completely forgetting that we are both lactose intolerant. Just like last year. And the year before."

A sheepish look crosses Josie's face. Hope can't help but a smile a little, even if Lizzie's rolling her eyes out of exasperation. 

"I did say refills were a bad idea," Landon says, holding a hand up. "Speaking of: do you two want some? I was about to go and get some more anyway, so..."

Hope chuckles but nods. The tips of her fingers are still a little numb and there's a chill lingering under her skin.

"Definitely," Lizzie chimes in, only to shoot Josie a narrow-eyed, stern look. "But no more for you, alright? You already look like you're dying as it is, and I'm sure you would much rather be able to greet mom properly without having to be in your bed." 

"But it tastes good," Josie tries to argue, almost a whine, and it might just be the first time Hope's seen her like this. Sick, and vulnerable, and completely uncaring. 

No one tries to disagree with her, though, of course. Kaleb chuckles softly, brushing his fingers through her hair. He's been doing it since they walked in, Hope notes. It's practically impossible not to see the fondness in his eyes when he looks at her, the tips of his fingers massaging her scalp.

"So, just to be clear," Landon looks between them all, still on the floor, his eyebrows furrowing, "Josie's not getting any more and no cream for Lizzie, right? That's how this is going?" 

"Yes," Lizzie quickly says as Josie starts to protest, only to shush a second later, conceding. "And no marshmallows either."

Landon and Kaleb practically do a double-take, and honestly, so does Hope. MG and Josie are the only two who don't seem surprised.

"Wait, you don't like marshmallows?" Hope asks.

Lizzie shrugs. "Not really, no." She arches an eyebrow, a glint forming in her eyes, the corners of her lips twitching. "Why? Is that a dealbreaker or something?"

Hope's face heats up. It occurs to her for the first time that they're going to have to tell their friends that they're officially dating. She can't help her mouth stretching as she goes to respond. 

"So, wait, you've just never had marshmallows in your hot chocolate?" Landon asks in disbelief, as if the idea is just too scandalous for him to fully comprehend. It's a little amusing, to be honest, even if he did just cut Hope off. "Who doesn't put marshmallows in their hot chocolate? Heathens, that's who. That's right. You're a heathen."

Lizzie stares at him in utter puzzlement, and everyone aside from the two of them burst out laughing. 

"Damn, Lizzie," MG says, his voice shaking. "Who would have thought. Lizzie Saltzman, a heathen."

"I'm surprised you even know what that word means, you mop-headed elf," Lizzie says, directing it at Landon with far less bite than she probably intended. "And why would I want clumps of melted sugar floating around in my hot chocolate? I prefer cinnamon. At least it adds flavour, unlike you."

Landon shakes his head, gesturing a hand without direction. "What kind of insult even is that?!"

"A stinging one."

"I think she just called you bland," Hope explains, her head tilting. "Think vanilla."

Landon opens his mouth as if to retort, his expression beyond incredulous, only he closes it again, seemingly at a loss. 

"Again, what kind of insult is that?" he asks with another shake of his head. "Everyone loves vanilla!"

"No one loves _vanilla_ ," Lizzie scoffs. "It's just the easiest to find because it's so common."

"Oh, what, so now you're calling me common? Have you been hanging around Sebastian again?"

"I think I might be losing my mind," Kaleb mutters, his eyes wide, glancing between them.

Hope snickers, agreeing, and Josie and MG are clearly on their side as well, grinning as the argument unfolds in front of them. She would try and break them up, but at this point, they'll find a way no matter what, and at least it gets it out of their system before they sit down to watch a movie. 

"Back me up here," Lizzie says, so suddenly that Hope blinks in surprise when she whips around to stare at her, waving a hand in Landon's direction. "I'm right, aren't I?"

Hope fumbles and falters, tripping over her own tongue like it's a race to the finish line and her laces are tied. She raises a shoulder in a sheepish shrug, her uncertainty probably written all over her face.

"I mean, vanilla isn't that bad," she tries, not wanting to be put in the middle of it. It's never as entertaining as it is to watch. 

In Lizzie's eyes, she's clearly just committed the ultimate crime. 

"Not that bad?" she repeats. "The Chamber of Secrets movie was not that bad. Vanilla is terrible. Number one rule of dating, Hope, is that you back each other up when confronted by other people, no matter what."

Hope's eyes grow. She glances over at their friends, her stomach dropping. None of them seems to have missed what Lizzie said, aside from Lizzie. It takes her just a second to realize, her face quickly dropping, and Hope's almost certain she sees the colour drain away right there and then. 

"WHAT?" 

Everyone bursts out into simultaneous exclamations, Josie even pushing herself up into a sitting position, staring at them with such shock and maybe the tiniest hint of a smile. Hope's heart is beating too fast as too many questions come flying at them, all of them wanting to know if they heard that right, and how long, and _what_?

"Well, we certainly picked the right time for an entrance."

Hope goes completely still. Her heart misses too many beats now and leaps into her throat as her stomach rolls over itself. She spins around to look over at the entrance, half-expecting to find that she's hearing things, that it's all in her head from some sort of panic. But her uncle Kol smiles over at her, locking her gaze. 

Everything's quiet now, but she barely notices. Her eyes dart behind him to the open door, and her breath catches in her throat as her aunt Davina and aunt Rebekah follow inside. Then her aunt Freya, and Keelin, and she's pretty sure there's baby Nik in Keelin's arms. 

"Hello, darling," her uncle Kol says. 

That's what breaks her. Her vision blurs, but she's already moving forward without thinking. Her arms are wrapped around him in a second. He chuckles, but he immediately hugs her back just as tightly, if not more. Everything sinks inside of her as she buries her face in his shirt, her heart clenching and twisting as she cries. 

"Oh, bloody hell, Kol, we've been here less than a minute and you've already worked her up into a state," she hears her aunt Rebekah scold him, partially teasing. "You promised you'd be on your best behaviour."

Hope pulls back, her laugh wobbling ever so lightly, though everything in her brain is screaming for her to never let go. He doesn't even seem to want to either. He leans down instead, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her eyes close for that moment, and behind her eyelids, she's a child again. 

"I've missed you, my little troublemaker," Kol murmurs, and the tears fall faster, knowing what he means. That hole that had been in everyone's memories. She can hear the pain in his voice, feeling it in her chest.

"Alright, you've hogged her enough," her aunt Rebekah says, "move over."

Her uncle Kol listens, though rolls his eyes, making Hope laugh again. Then she looks up at her aunt Rebekah and is met with glistening eyes and a teary gaze and a sad but relieved smile. Hope falls into her arms without a thought. 

"Oh, god, you're gonna set me off," her aunt Rebekah says, but she can hear the shake in her voice and knows that she already has.

Hope just cries and hugs her tighter as her aunt Rebekah strokes a hand through her hair, then pulls back, moving a hand to the side of her neck, tilting her head up to look her at her. 

"Never do that again, you hear me?" she says, and Hope nods quickly, the movement jerky as she tries to blink to clear her vision. All it does is make more tears fall as she breaks down in her arms. Her aunt Rebekah makes a soothing sort of noise and wipes a tear away with her thumb. Hope leans into her hand, her heart aching for this, for all of it. "I will not lose you, Hope Mikaelson, alright? Never."

Hope nods again, not trusting herself to speak, her throat closing up the second she heard her uncle Kol's voice. It feels so surreal. Like a distant dream, the one thing she's been desperately wishing for since she got out of Malivore. She catches her aunt Freya's gaze, a smile passing between them as her aunt Rebekah quickly pulls her back in, wrapping her back up in her arms. Hope never wants her to let go.

Her eyes dart to the door as someone else appears.

"Mom!" Lizzie and Josie shout from behind her just as Caroline walks in, Alaric in tow. 

Slowly, Hope pulls back out of surprise, her smile widening as Lizzie and Josie both envelop Caroline in a hug that might have knocked a regular person slightly off-balance. Caroline just laughs, and Hope can already see her smile wobbling and her eyes shining too brightly, just like everyone else's.

"Hi, girls," Caroline says softly, an arm wrapped around both of them, her hands winding into their hair. "Surprise."

Surprise feels like an understatement, Hope thinks. A hollow piece in her chest that had been hurting all summer finally starts to fill back up with the love she had forgotten, that she desperately needed and wanted more than anything, warming her skin and spreading throughout her. 

She feels another arm wrap around her and smiles up at her uncle Kol, leaning into his side, her aunt Rebekah still holding onto her. The tears haven't quite stopped, and she notices that even his eyes aren't quite dry. _This is it_ , she thinks as she glances around at everyone, her family. This is all she wanted. It's all she needs.


End file.
